Here are details of those stories, plus others we have in the works for today and notable pieces that we sent in the past 10 hours (all times EST):

WORLD

SYRIA-PEACE TALKS - Peace talks intended to carve a path out of Syria’s civil war got off to a rocky start as a bitter clash over President Bashar Assad’s future threatened to collapse the negotiations even before they really begin. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, videos. UPCOMING: 800 words with new approach by 2000 GMT.

- SYRIA-MILITARY PLAYERS-GLANCE - A look at key military players on the government and rebel sides of Syria’s civil war. SENT: 790 words, photos.

- SYRIA-PEACE TALKS-KERRY - Kerry says there is no way that Syria’s president can be part of a transitional government being discussed at an international conference aimed at ending the conflict. SENT: 110 words.

JORDAN-SYRIA-ARMS - An army official in Jordan says the country’s border patrol has seized a large cache of arms and ammunition, explosives, drugs and cigarettes coming from Syria. SENT: 130 words.

SYRIA-DIVIDED CITY - The sectarian divisions burning across the rest of Syria have become physical barriers in a town on the Mediterranean coast, with soldiers manning sandbagged checkpoints dividing its Sunni Muslim southern neighborhoods from those of the Alawite and Christians in the north. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 1900.

AFGHANISTAN-DEATH ROAD - A 20-mile (30-kilometer) stretch of a two-lane road in central Afghanistan has seen many beheadings, kidnappings and other Taliban attacks in recent years against members of the minority ethnic Hazara community. UPCOMING: 1,080 words, photos by 3 p.m.

UKRAINE-PROTESTS - Police in Ukraine’s capital tore down protester barricades and chased demonstrators away from the site of violent clashes, hours after two protesters died after being shot, the first violent deaths in protests likely to drastically escalate the political crisis. SENT: 700 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 900 words by 1900 GMT.

SOCHI-TERRORIST THREAT - Hungary’s Olympic Committee says it and other nations have received an email message written in Russian and English threatening their athletes with terrorist attacks at the upcoming Sochi Olympic Games. SENT: 300 words.

ALGERIA-SOUTHERN UNREST -Algeria has sent thousands of police officers to calm weeks of ethnic clashes in a southern desert city, and seven people have been arrested. SENT: 470 words.

THAILAND-POLITICS - Gunmen have wounded a top leader of a major pro-government movement in northern Thailand, as demonstrators pushing to overthrow the prime minister defy the start of a state of emergency imposed in the capital. SENT: 690 words, photos.

SOUTH SUDAN - A spokesman for rebels in South Sudan says the government is delaying peace talks because it is in a stronger position after winning back rebel-held territory. SENT: 130 words.

CHINA-OFFSHORE HAVENS - Relatives of China’s president and other business and political leaders are linked to offshore tax havens that help “shroud the communist elite’s wealth,” a U.S.-based journalism group says. SENT: 800 words.

CHINA-CITIZENS MOVEMENT TRIAL - The founder of a grassroots movement to boost accountability for Chinese officials goes on trial on charges of disrupting public order but doesn’t utter a word during the six-hour, closed-door proceedings to protest what he considers an unjust case, his lawyer says. SENT: 810 words, photos.

PHILIPPINES-MUSLIM REBELS - The Philippine government and the country’s largest Muslim rebel group begin what they hope will be the final round of talks on ending a decades-long rebellion. SENT: 440 words.

INDONESIA-CORRUPTION - An investigation of an Indonesian chief justice who was arrested on suspicion of receiving a $250,000 bribe has found that he has more than $16 million in assets, including 33 cars and 31 motorcycles, the graft commission says. SENT: 330 words.

AUSTRALIA-ICEBOUND SHIP - An expedition of 52 scientists and tourists arrives in Australia, setting foot on dry land for the first time since they were rescued from a ship trapped in Antarctic sea ice three weeks ago. SENT: 410 words, photos.

NEPAL-PARLIAMENT - After a two-month delay, Nepal’s newly elected Constituent Assembly convenes to begin its main task: drafting a constitution, which the Himalayan nation has lacked for the past five years. SENT: 340 words, photos.

INDIA-MINISTER’S WIFE - The wife of a prominent Indian politician died from stress and the wrong medication, not suicide, her son says, the latest twist in a case that has captivated the country. SENT: 310 words.

HONG KONG-INDONESIA-MAID-ABUSE - Police file charges against a woman accused of torturing her Indonesian maid as well two other former domestic helpers. SENT: 240 words, photos.

INDONESIA-BRITON-DRUGS - An Indonesian court sentences a British woman to 14 years in jail after finding her guilty of drug smuggling. SENT: 150 words.

MYANMAR-ECONOMY - Myanmar’s economy is on pace to grow 7.5 percent this fiscal year, the IMF says, praising the government for working to liberalize the foreign exchange market and boost central bank reserves. SENT: 180 words.

MALAYSIA-AUTO SALES - Auto sales in Malaysia rose 4.5 percent to a record high in 2013, but are expected to slow this year as a rising cost of living curbs consumer spending, an industry group says. SENT: 490 words.

PAKISTAN - Gunmen opened fire on Pakistani police escorting a Spanish cyclist through a volatile province, killing six officers, while a bomb targeting a polio vaccination team killed seven people in the northwest. SENT: 700 words, photos.

EUROPE-CLIMATE CHANGE - The EU shied away from more ambitious renewable energy goals as the bloc’s sluggish economy appeared to dent its zeal in the global fight against climate change. SENT: 770 words, photos.

BRAZIL-TRAIN ACCIDENT - A commuter train in Rio de Janeiro has left the tracks and hit a pole supporting power lines, causing no injuries but sowing plenty of chaos for the public transportation system. SENT: 120 words.

EUROPE-IRAN-SANCTIONS - Europe’s business community is abuzz with preparations to rush back into Iran, one of the largest economies in the Middle East, as sanctions are lifted. UPCOMING: 1,300 words by 11 a.m.

OBAMA-COLLEGE SEXUAL ASSAULTS - Obama is launching an initiative to combat sexual assault, particularly on college campuses, turning the spotlight on a problem that has devastated millions of Americans yet rarely receives such White House attention. SENT: 540 words. UPCOMING: Updates after 1905 GMT remarks.

POLITICS

CHRISTIE-HISPANICS - He has found unlikely allies among the nation’s Hispanic community, in part because of his aggressive courtship of minority voters throughout his first four years in office. SENT: 800 words, photo.

TEXAS EXECUTION - Attorneys for a Mexican national convicted of killing a Houston police officer 20 years ago want his execution in Texas to be halted, saying he was denied legal help from the Mexican consulate. SENT: 700 words, photos. UPCOMING: 800 words, photo after 2300 GMT execution.

SAN DIEGO-CAMPAIGN DONOR - Hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions from a wealthy Mexican businessman supported San Diego politicians, according to a federal complaint. SENT: 380 words.

HEALTH

BIRD FLU-NEW YEAR - A spate of bird flu cases since the beginning of the year in China leaves experts jittery as millions of people and poultry are on the move ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. SENT: 720 words, photos.

LUNGS FOR TWO SISTERS - For months, 71-year-old Irma Myers-Santana and her younger sister, Anna Williamson, 69, have been debating who more urgently needs a lung transplant, each wanting the other to go first. Earlier this month, the sisters each got one lung from the same donor. SENT: 650 words, photos.

SPYING IN HINDSIGHT - A former U.S. prosecutor and Internet surveillance pioneer who describes himself as “extremely pro law enforcement,” is one of a growing number of former intelligence and law enforcement officials questioning the current scope of the NSA’s data gathering programs. UPCOMING: 1,100 words by noon.

JETBLUE-ETIHAD-PARTNERSHIP - JetBlue Airways Corp. and the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways, will allow passengers to fly on routes operated by both carriers on a single ticket. SENT: 140 words.

SPORTS

AUSTRALIAN OPEN - Rafael Nadal avoided the top player exodus that claimed two-time defending women’s champion Victoria Azarenka in the preceding match on center court with a win over Grigor Dimitrov in the Australian Open quarterfinals. SENT: 770 words, photos.

COWBOYS-BRENT - The jury deciding the intoxication manslaughter case against former Dallas Cowboys player Josh Brent will deliberate for a second day. SENT: 130 words, photos.

OLYMPICS-SECURITY-UNITED STATES - The House Homeland Security Committee says safety measures undertaken by the Russian government at the Sochi site of the Olympics are the “most impressive” in the history of the Games. SENT: 130 words, photo.

ENTERTAINMENT

MUSIC-GRAMMYWATCH-WHAT TO WATCH FOR - Looking ahead to the Grammy moments that will keep you glued to the tube. SENT: 600 words, photos.

MADONNA-FRIEND’S ESTATE - Madonna’s ambition — and a good bit of innocence — can be seen in a collection of photos, art and drawings that are on the auction block Feb. 9 in St. Petersburg, Fla. SENT: 710 words, photos.